What is the point of clear sunglasses lenses? Do they help at all?

I was looking on Oakley.com, and I have always been interested in getting a pair of sunglasses with clear lenses. I was just wondering if they help a little or not at all. I also saw Gold Clear lenses. If either of these do any good, could you let me know, cause I am really interested in getting a pair of sunglasses with clear lenses. Thanks.What is the point of clear sunglasses lenses? Do they help at all?
Oakley's lenses vary in the amount of light filtering they do, and clear lenses certainly do *not* function as ';normal'; sunglasses would.





Most of Oakley's true sunglass lenses only transmit 9-10% of the light. Some will allow around 15%. Those would all be about what you'd think of as ';normal'; for sunglasses. They have some lenses that start allowing in the range of 30-50%, but these are generally for overcast conditions or shadow settings, like if people go mountain biking in the woods.





The clear lenses transmit 93% of the light -- that's most definitely not a real ';sunglass.'; Anyone who gets them for Oakleys tends to use them for the physical safety function -- nighttime bike riding or running, safety lenses for raquetball or shooting, a way to keep rain out of your eyes, etc. In Oakley models that have replaceable lenses, it's essentially a way to turn something into a safety goggle.





Get clear lenses if you need to physically protect your eyes in some setting, but do not plan on using them for protection from sunlight or as you would use a normal pair of sunglasses. That's not their design nor intent.